A: Delivery terms change by the day and the stock and - back-order situation - changes accordingly.

Pushing for earlier delivery does not work and it's also not a good idea - not for us and also not for the clients. 
Never rush production is one of our motto that has been proven correct for many many years. It will not be abandoned. 

The back-order situation is due to the order influx for the same products and now also due to the disruptions in production occuring pretty much wordwide. Some components are quoted with deliveries of up to 82 weeks (that is not days, but weeks...).

FM ACOUSTICS will JUST not compromise quality and therefore no or not many alternatives exist. This results in some product's waiting time of between 2 and 82 weeks. 

 

Our way of crafting a unit is very different so it is not possible to "ramp up" production like others can do. The actual delivery situation changes with order influx and production schedules. While some models are back-ordered, other products are available reasonably quickly.

For actual information on delivery terms contact the official distributor in your area (do not trust what's quoted elsewhere on the web).  

 

FM ACOUSTICS has operated continuously at 100% of capacity for 28 years.

Elaborate methods using time consuming and complex selection and calibration processes are used by crafts-women and crafts-men who have been with FM ACOUSTICS for many - most dozens of years. It is not possible to just hire additional personnel and rapidly increase production. Hundreds of small details need specific knowledge and know how. Even experienced senior personnel needs a year or two before they understand FM ACOUSTICS standards and can start to be productive.

This may sound overstated but it is a fact that only those who have thorough "hands-on" experience of the production methods can understand how time consuming and demanding the crafting of an FM ACOUSTICS unit actually is.

 

Thanks for understanding and thanks to those who have a unit on order. For your patience you will be rewarded with singular musicality.

 

 

Q: Can I visit FM ACOUSTICS? Can products be purchased directly from the factory?

A: Neither one is possible. FM ACOUSTICS is a production company and has no capability of demonstrating, giving specific advice or selling. That is the strength of our appointed distributors who have the required knowledge and can optimally advise you.

 

 

Q: Does FM ACOUSTICS have used or ex-demo units available?

 
A: No, FM ACOUSTICS does not offer any pre-owned equipment. 

 

 

Q: I cannot afford a new unit. Where can I get a pre-owned FM ACOUSTICS?

 

A: For those, whose budget is not sufficient for a new FM ACOUSTICS the best choice is to contact FM ACOUSTICS' official distributor in their area. He is the one who knows best what is - or may become - available in decent condition.
To get details of your allocated distributor contact FM ACOUSTICS.

 

NOTE: It is not safe to purchase units of such value on the internet.

 

 

 

Before acquiring used FM ACOUSTICS equipment have it checked thoroughly. Plenty of sharks swim in "audiophile waters".

AGAIN: Check carefully BEFORE you buy. If there are any lingering doubts do not proceed.

 

 

Be careful; e.g.: some used equipment dealers purchase run down amps of the 70ies and 80ies' professional series, do a quick repainting job and then resell them on the internet or elsewhere for quite princely sums.

 

 

 

Well cared for FM 600A's, FM 800A's and FM 801's are indeed valuable but their number is limited. When they are cared for (and used correctly - not with ultra low impedance loads that a few of today's speakers present) they perform exceedingly well - and they are superbly musical.

Some units have been totally mistreated which is why some run-down examples of these amplifiers exist. Don't just be impressed by a shiny outside, it's the inside that counts - and where potential problems could appear.

Mistreated units are bound to be a poor investment as repair and refurbishment can be extremely time consuming and sometimes economically not viable at all. Only an experienced factory-trained engineer has a chance to evaluate the real condition inside a unit - and that can be a tiresome task.

 

However, it is a fact indeed that older units in good technical condition can provide a wonderful musical experience, the reason for their extremely high value - surpassing the original price - often by 100-250%.

New equipment is ONLY available from our selected official distributors. Should you get offered "New" units by other sources you may be offered a fake product. Contact your local distributor for verification. 

 

 

Q: What is the realistic value of second hand FM ACOUSTICS units?

 

A: That depends on the type of product, on how and where it was used, on the vintage, on the unit's condition and more. If it is in nice shape without major blemishes and has not been abused, it is often valued above the original price - and sometimes a lot higher - and this even with units that are 40 years and older.

It also makes commercial sense to be careful with an FM ACOUSTICS to better preserve the units' value.

 

 

Q: Why are Resolution Series amplifiers only available with FORCELINES?

 

A: It has been assumed that the reason is financial gain for FM ACOUSTICS. This is not correct. FORCELINES cables are not very expensive.

Contrary to what is often claimed, a speaker cable is N O T "a matter of taste", it is N O T something "to play with" (this is an area that some manufacturers and dealers love to exploit as it can be almost as good as "selling snake oil" - for near magic prices...).

 

While with some other power amplifiers certain cables may work fine, those cables will be unacceptable when using with an FM ACOUSTICS amplifier. There are sound technical reasons for this; one of these reasons is that the output current capability of FM ACOUSTICS amplifiers is much higher than usual amplifiers - which consequently increased demand on the speaker cable. A further difference is the dynamic output impedance - which on FM ACOUSTICS amplifiers is lower than in other amplifiers. A lower output impedance means that the corresponding requirements on the cable increase in proportion.

The reason why the Resolution Series was designed including FORCELINES is that the optimum must be available at the speaker terminals, not just at the output of the amplifier. Therefore, every order for a Resolution Series amplifier must include an order for FORCELINES.

 

For more in-depth information on this subject please refer to our Technical Bulletin Nr. 23.

 

 

Q: In certain applications remote switch on of the power amplifiers is required. How can this be accomplished with FM ACOUSTICS units?

A: The amplifiers can be placed next to a speaker or in any remote location. All of FM ACOUSTICS products, the power amplifiers, the pre-amplifiers, the crossovers etc. keep their unique features such as delayed turn-on, all protection circuitry intelligence etc. even when power is switched on remotely. Within a good ten seconds they are fully operational and sound optimal (unlike some other audio electronics that need long warm up times).

 

 

Q: I bought some P.I.T. interconnect cable over the internet but the performance is disappointing compared to the ones I had bought previously from your distributor here. This is lack of quality control!

 

A: Checks have shown that you are a victim of one of the unscrupulous wheeler-dealers that offer fake copies of P.I.T cables. As they look similar to the originals some users have been tricked into believing that they are receiving originals.

The fake copies of P.I.T. and FORCELINES cables that are being offered in certain countries often lack the identification number, a tag around the cable near one of the connectors. There are other signs that can only be analyzed by official distributors. Also, do not accept the cable if it does not come in the blue velvet pouch printed "Precision Interface Technology" in dark gold lettering.

Actually, it was interesting that since the time the first fakes copies have appeared the order influx for our cables has increased considerably...

 

Since May 2007 all cables have been specially coded - to help distinguish the originals from fake copies. Show the cables to the official representative and he will assist you in asserting that the cables are genuine (or not...).

 

The performance difference is large; for instance the copyists - who would have thought??? - fail to understand why 3 different "balanced" line level cables are required (and that only one type can be correct for a given interface). All three versions look exactly the same. Only by correctly understanding a circuit's requirements can optimal system interfacing be guaranteed.

 

Buying similar looking cheaper cables one can end up with non-optimal system interfacing and less than optimal performance.

 

Fake P.I.T.'s are not worth the initial "savings". The old saying "you get what you pay for" applies here too.

 

 

Q: I just read about the new FM 223 Phono Master. Is this the replacement of the FM 222? When is it available?

A: The FM 222 series is a tremendous success story that continued since its introduction in 1992. It is justly world-famous and shares most - but not all - features and circuits with the FM 223, its successor.

Within months of its introduction the FM 223 has proved to be a resounding success and we are completing the fifth series. It IS a great product and a milestone achievement for our engineers and therefore it replaces the FM 222, the unit that revolutionized phono pre-amplification and introduced the world to correct phono linearization.

Our thanks to all who have contributed to this instant success!

 

 

Q: Some phono stages use an additional HF filter in the de-emphasis correction as it is said that Neumann included such a filter in their cutting lathes.

Is this filter included in the FM ACOUSTICS phono linearizers?

A: On later versions of cutting lathes, Neumann did indeed incorporate an HF shelving filter (as a protection for the very expensive cutter head - high level high frequencies can easily damage a cutter head). Some phono stage designers now just fix this compensation into their RIAA de-emphasis circuits in the belief that this is the way all LP's were mastered.

Well, that is not correct: not everyone used Neumann cutting lathes and those that did often disliked this filter. Today's phono stage designers (and other "experts") just do not know that many experienced mastering engineers of the golden era did not like this filter and just disabled it! No blame on those "experts" and designers - most of them were not born yet when this happened...

Less experienced mastering engineers were told to use the non-modified Neumann machines (as there was a danger of burning the tremendously expensive cutter head ( over USD 10000, which was a lot of money in those days... ) - with HF signals).

 

No worries: FM ACOUSTICS's phono linearizers provide the ultimate solution:

thanks to the continuously variable "HF attenuation" control on the front panel it is possible to fine tune the HF response and thereby optimize the reproduction for each individual record and both "styles" of mastering.

 

  

Q: When will FM ACOUSTICS supply source components such as turntables, download servers, CD/DVD/blue ray players, converters ?

A: The reason that certain product types - like the ones mentioned - are not manufactured by FM ACOUSTICS is quite simple: FM ACOUSTICS only introduces a product when it brings massive improvements over the current State of the Art.

It just makes no sense to introduce a product if it is only slightly better than the current best. While it could be attractive from a financial standpoint (a converter, for instance, contains only a couple of chips and a power supply housed in a chassis, so it’s easy to manufacture as no selection or special tuning or attention is needed), it is not in our philosophy.

FM ACOUSTICS never introduced a 'me too' product and we will not do it just for the sake of financial gain.

  

  

Q: Can different power supplies than the ones delivered with the unit be used? 

 

A: Never connect any other power supply, even if it carries the same voltage and current rating. Many characteristics are not specified and may be different,  endangering the unit.

 

For instance, only the FM 105 p.s. which is delivered with each FM 155-MKII-R can only be used for the FM 155-MKIIR. If other p.s. are connected the unit will be damaged.

The first version , FM 155 MKI has different circuits and came with a very different power supply that would never work with a MKII. Fortunately it cannot be used on the FM 155-MKIIR by accident as it has a different connector.

 

The FM 122, 133 and 155-MKI use an outboard transformer but have built-in power supplies. Only the FM 102 p.s. can be used with these units.  

 

NEVER EVER try to connect any other type or brand of power supplies. Damage occurred from doing so is not covered by warranty.

 

 

Q: The FM 122-MKII, FM 133 and FM 155 have a small power supply. Is there no bigger sized upgrade?

 

A: Size is not a quality factor. The days when people believed that bigger and heavier was better than smaller and lighter are pretty much gone.
Rather important: the FM 102 is N O T a power supply. It houses a low noise transformer that converts the 115 or 230V from the mains to a lower voltage, nothing more. All the rectification and multi-stage stabilization is done inside the units.

Don't get misled by its size and by false promises of some "audio gurus" that claim to offer an "improvement" of the FM 102 "power supply". The FM 102 must not do anything else than transform the mains voltage to the level required by the power supply that is built inside the FM 122-MKII, FM 133 and FM 155, and this it does perfectly.

 

 

Q: Why is there no MKII version of certain FM ACOUSTICS products, like e.g. the FM 111?

A: We do not adhere to the more or less regular "upgrade" game or "a new product update every year" philosophy. Once an FM ACOUSTICS becomes available it has undergone countless tests "down to the bone" in critical situations in different parts of the world - before (!) - it is made available. This assures that bugs or problems show up in the pre-series and if not there in the following "0"-series and can be ironed out before (and not after...) the unit becomes available.

As an example: since its introduction 26 years ago the FM 266 did not need a single modification. It was - and is - just right. This is good for the users and it is good for us; stable long-term production. So no need for a "MKII" in all these years.
Recently, new parts have become available that - together with advanced insights due to long-term research - allow the first amelioration. The refinement manifests itself in some smaller but also some more substantial improvements. These certainly warrant a designation of "MKII" and such is actually needed to differentiate the two as many components, layout, pcb etc. are different.

Newer units incorporate such ameliorations, so on any unit where there is no "MKII" it just means that these already incorporate the ameliorations and are at top performance level.

 

 

Q: Can the MKI units like e.g. the FM 411 or the FM 255 be upgraded to MKII status?

A: The differences are so large that in most cases an upgrade is not possible or - if it is possible - may cost more than a new product.
FM ACOUSTICS only introduce a new version of a product when clear proven improvements have been possible. We do not follow the idea of an "upgrading spiral" (that can be costly for users and is often just a remedy of design or manufacturing errors which should not have occurred in the first place...).

 

If a product is mature, tested and has no flaws it will take many years before a real improvement is possible. As an example: the original FM 411 was manufactured the same way for 12 years, the FM 266 for 15 years before it became possible to introduce a new version.

  

 

Q: When I listen at reasonable levels the output level control of the FM ACOUSTICS pre-amp is about at the 9 o'clock position. It gets too loud when I turn it up. What can I do about this?

A: If this is the case with all sources of your audio system has too much overall gain.
If your power amplifier has gain controls that do not affect sound quality (unfortunately some indeed do degrade the quality of the audio signal), reduce the level on the power amp by lowering its volume control.
If there are no gain controls on the power amp or there is an audible change when turning the amplifier's level control, contact your distributor. On almost all units he will be able to adjust the gain internally.

It is NOT recommended to operate the units with the -20dB "mute" switch pushed in as hitting that switch accidentally will increase the volume by a tremendous 20 db gain which can endanger the speakers and amplifier(s).

If the excessive gain is only apparent with one source, say the CD-SACD player/converter, while it is not with other sources, the converter does not adhere to the professional standards of line level signals and produces higher than usual output.
In other pre-amplifiers/line stages this can provoke overload of the input stages. All FM ACOUSTICS line inputs have very high overload margin so this is not of concern. However, the fact remains that there is too much overall gain and "the volume control is in the 'wrong' position".
An optimal gain setting is - if at maximum acceptable volume level - the pre-amplifier's volume control is close to full level (around the 5 o'clock position) - which will result in an 11 o'clock to 2 o'clock position at more normal volume levels. Such a setting will also help protect against an accidental heavy peak impulse that might destroy the speakers.
Do not think that there is "less reserve" when adjusting the gain as indicated above. The moment an amplifier clips it reached its limit whatever the Volume control position of the pre-amplifier is.